I scheduled this race as a side trip to a conference I am attending in Phoenix this week. I hadn’t done a race in the desert since the 2006 Phoenix Rock n Roll Marathon so I thought it’d be a nice change of pace running in a smaller race (about 300 people doing three events) and at a little elevation (4,000 feet).
This race was quite a bit different than the previous two (Hartford and Columbus). There was little fanfare and the packet pickup was just that. I thought it was pretty funny they had the packets all made up and the only thing in the packet was a race number and safety pins. They had a freebie pasta dinner and I was able to meet a few folks, one of which was a woman named Theresa (I think) who won her age group in her first ever race. Way to go!!
The race started and finished at the “Field of Dreams” in Las Cruces. For some reason, the race started about 20 minutes late so the clear sky of the morning was becoming more evident and the temps were increasing by the minute. Fortunately it was a cool-ish 55 at the start. This race was extremely flat and very exposed. There was absolutely no shade to speak of! It was pretty cool seeing the mountains all around us as we ran. At mile 4 ½ of the race the course went off road for the next two miles It looked like a sandy service road for about a half mile or so then turned onto a desert trail until almost the turn around. It was extremely scenic and a very nice change of pace. At the turn around I realized the higher elevation (yeah, I know 4,000 feet isn’t that high but it’s different than the 800 or so in Columbus) as well as the TRAS potluck beers on Friday night probably were going to be my downfall. I turned around to be greeted by a nice 15 or so MPH headwind. It was heaven….ok, not really. It blew!! I slowed about 45 or so seconds a mile and just tried to persevere until we hit the crosswind right before mile 10. I hit the 10 mile post about 4-5 minutes slower than in Columbus but thought if I could match Hartford, it’d be a good day! The last 5k was mostly downwind with a little cross and the temps were in the mid-70’s by then. I was out of gas by 11 and slowed a bit more When I hit the stadium for my “victory lap” I realized the clocks were wrong and my time would be way better than what my watch showed. At least it’ll look like a PR!!! I crossed the line about 6 minutes slower than Columbus but 3 minutes faster than Air Force so with everything considered, I was pretty happy. I grabbed my medal (rather chintzy but I really wasn’t worried about it), a bottle of water, talked to my new friend Theresa, then hit the road.
The story typically ends there but the post race “festivities” of the Jacuzzi tub in my room (awesome post race thing!!) and the trip back to El Paso are worth mentioning. About 30 miles from El Paso, the middle of the desert, I heard a loud “POP.” I didn’t see anything but realized I might have a flat. Sure enough, I did! While it was a slow leak, I could hear it and knew I had to change to the spare. It’s pretty unnerving with semis whizzing by at 70+ MPH while you’re trying to change a tire. I’ll give kudos to the Chevy folks for designing a good tire changer. It took about 20 or so minutes but I got it done with only a few scrapes but NO curses! I was just glad I had booked a later flight!!!
All in all a good race with great scenery! I think it’d be fun to do that one again but I’ll probably save my $$ for another state.
23 down……..
Next up, Indianapolis Monumental half marathon on Saturday. I guess I better get some rest!!!
This race was quite a bit different than the previous two (Hartford and Columbus). There was little fanfare and the packet pickup was just that. I thought it was pretty funny they had the packets all made up and the only thing in the packet was a race number and safety pins. They had a freebie pasta dinner and I was able to meet a few folks, one of which was a woman named Theresa (I think) who won her age group in her first ever race. Way to go!!
The race started and finished at the “Field of Dreams” in Las Cruces. For some reason, the race started about 20 minutes late so the clear sky of the morning was becoming more evident and the temps were increasing by the minute. Fortunately it was a cool-ish 55 at the start. This race was extremely flat and very exposed. There was absolutely no shade to speak of! It was pretty cool seeing the mountains all around us as we ran. At mile 4 ½ of the race the course went off road for the next two miles It looked like a sandy service road for about a half mile or so then turned onto a desert trail until almost the turn around. It was extremely scenic and a very nice change of pace. At the turn around I realized the higher elevation (yeah, I know 4,000 feet isn’t that high but it’s different than the 800 or so in Columbus) as well as the TRAS potluck beers on Friday night probably were going to be my downfall. I turned around to be greeted by a nice 15 or so MPH headwind. It was heaven….ok, not really. It blew!! I slowed about 45 or so seconds a mile and just tried to persevere until we hit the crosswind right before mile 10. I hit the 10 mile post about 4-5 minutes slower than in Columbus but thought if I could match Hartford, it’d be a good day! The last 5k was mostly downwind with a little cross and the temps were in the mid-70’s by then. I was out of gas by 11 and slowed a bit more When I hit the stadium for my “victory lap” I realized the clocks were wrong and my time would be way better than what my watch showed. At least it’ll look like a PR!!! I crossed the line about 6 minutes slower than Columbus but 3 minutes faster than Air Force so with everything considered, I was pretty happy. I grabbed my medal (rather chintzy but I really wasn’t worried about it), a bottle of water, talked to my new friend Theresa, then hit the road.
The story typically ends there but the post race “festivities” of the Jacuzzi tub in my room (awesome post race thing!!) and the trip back to El Paso are worth mentioning. About 30 miles from El Paso, the middle of the desert, I heard a loud “POP.” I didn’t see anything but realized I might have a flat. Sure enough, I did! While it was a slow leak, I could hear it and knew I had to change to the spare. It’s pretty unnerving with semis whizzing by at 70+ MPH while you’re trying to change a tire. I’ll give kudos to the Chevy folks for designing a good tire changer. It took about 20 or so minutes but I got it done with only a few scrapes but NO curses! I was just glad I had booked a later flight!!!
All in all a good race with great scenery! I think it’d be fun to do that one again but I’ll probably save my $$ for another state.
23 down……..
Next up, Indianapolis Monumental half marathon on Saturday. I guess I better get some rest!!!
2 comments:
I have family out in Alamagordo, NM, which I think is near Las Cruces... you've almost convinced me to go out... almost. :)
I LOVE Las Cruces!!!! Rock on Rambo. I was just there a coupla months ago, what a beautiful area.
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